


Love is Blind

by inukagome15



Series: At Long Last [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assumptions, Canon Disabled Character, Communication, Fix-It, Fluff, Friendship, Healthy Relationships, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Misunderstandings, No Angst, No character bashing, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inukagome15/pseuds/inukagome15
Summary: They say love is blind, but Rhodey thinks he and Tony have got things pretty well figured out at this point. They were plenty blind before, but now they're communicating and things are amazingly perfect. Even the team seems to think so, especially since Tony and Rogers have also worked their own problems out.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Series: At Long Last [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994077
Comments: 9
Kudos: 65
Collections: Ironhusbands Big Bang 2020





	Love is Blind

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank [Ducky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00) ([on tumblr](https://jamesbuckystark.tumblr.com/)) for moderating the first Ironhusbands Big Bang. I got lucky enough that the mod picked my story for art, so she's made a pretty cool moodboard for this! I will link it once I have the link.
> 
> This is a follow-up to my other Tony/Rhodey story, but I think it stands on its own pretty well so reading it isn't required. ~~But don't you want to?~~  
>  There's a [tumblr post](https://inukagome15.tumblr.com/post/633528499328696320/love-is-blind) for this as well, so please give it a reblog if you liked it and so others can share in the love.
> 
> Ducky's moodboard can be found [here](https://inukagome15.tumblr.com/post/633533965198852096/moodboard-for-the-ironhusbands-big-bang)! Give it a reblog and some love!

Rhodey didn’t ordinarily sleep with other people. One-night stands had never been his thing except on rare occasions when he and Tony went out and hit the bars a little too hard, and those nights had become more infrequent the older they were.

He was the wrong side of forty to keep doing that, so long story short… Rhodey usually shared his bed with no one nowadays, which was why this morning was so odd.

For starters, he was _definitely_ sharing the bed with someone who was wrapped around him pretty thoroughly. It was also an unfamiliar bed, the air feeling different than what he was used to.

But the scent…that was all Tony.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Rhodey chased after the memory of a dream where he and Tony had confessed their feelings to each other and then proceeded to literally sleep together. Only…it felt too real to just be a dream…?

There was definite fabric under his fingers that wasn’t the blanket covers but instead the softer fabric of a shirt. And the warmth in his warms was too solid to be a figment of his sleeping mind, especially when he was this close to waking.

Opening his eyes, Rhodey saw that he was lying in bed with Tony. _Tony_ was snuggled up to him, head on his chest, and still soundly asleep.

Scarcely daring to believe it, Rhodey closed his eyes and craned his head the few inches separating them until his nose was buried in Tony’s hair. He breathed in, and yes, that was Tony’s scent minus the grease of days spent in the workshop.

Though, really, Tony had been better about that the older he got. Rhodey wasn’t the only one approaching the wrong side of forty.

Opening his eyes again, Rhodey took the opportunity to watch Tony sleep in a totally not creepy way. It wasn’t the first time he’d shared a bed with Tony, but it was the first time in a _long_ time he had done so. They’d done it most often at MIT, but it had become sparser after that with Rhodey entering the Air Force and Tony’s responsibilities at SI.

And then… Well, Rhodey wasn’t that much of a masochist that he would deliberately invite that sort of pain on himself.

But there was no pain now, just a heady sort of disbelief that last night _had_ happened. Because it had, and they were here now, and Rhodey could _scarcely believe it_.

He buried his nose in Tony’s hair again, taking in another breath. It was soft and unruly in all the best ways, no gel to keep it slicked back. It was Rhodey’s favorite way of seeing Tony, because it meant he was truly relaxed and absolutely not dolled up for the press or anyone else. It was just _Tony_ , and that was the best Tony.

…Most Tonys were good Tonys, but there were _ranks_.

Rhodey squeezed Tony tighter, then relaxed his grip and just let himself enjoy the sensation of holding him without any guilt because Tony knew exactly how he felt now.

And the best part about this was that Tony was sleeping soundly. Rhodey wasn’t sure how long it had been since he had gotten a full night’s rest, but he’d gotten far too familiar with the lines of stress on Tony’s face and the pinched lines around his eyes that signaled a stress headache.

Those lines were gone now. Tony was relaxed in sleep, and that was all Rhodey could ask for.

That, and Tony’s continued presence here in his arms.

He would have to get up at some point to relieve himself, but that could wait for now. He didn’t think Tony would be asleep for too much longer, and he wanted to enjoy these moments while he could.

Rhodey drifted off into a doze as the minutes passed, but it didn’t seem too much longer before Tony stirred, his own grip on Rhodey tightening as he woke. There was a moment of stillness from Tony, almost like he was evaluating who he was holding, and then his eyes opened and he turned his head to look up to Rhodey.

There was a faintly disbelieving expression on Tony’s face, but it was followed soon after by a sweet smile.

Rhodey smiled back, rubbing one hand over Tony’s back. “Look who finally decided to wake up.”

Tony’s smile broadened into a slight grin. “Finally? As if you didn’t just wake up, too, platypus.”

“Nah, I’ve been awake for ages. Just waiting on you, sleeping beauty.” Rhodey was grinning, too, a bubbly emotion in his chest that had him feeling slightly giddy.

Tony made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded almost indignant if not for the grin still tugging at his mouth. “Sleeping beauty? That the best you got?”

Rhodey hesitated, then said, “If the shoe fits…”

“Mixing up fairy tales there, honey bear. I’m definitely no Cinderella, and I’m _definitely_ no Sleeping Beauty.”

“I’m calling it like I see it, and you were definitely a sleeping beauty.”

“As _if_. If anything, I’m more of a Wall-E kind of guy.”

“Wall-E isn’t even a princess; you can’t bring a _robot_ into this discussion.”

“Says who? Don’t be speciest, Rhodey. Robots can be princesses, too. Just look at Dummy.”

Rhodey gave Tony an incredulous look, raising both eyebrows. “That dunce cap is _not_ a crown no matter how you spin it.”

“It’s a crown,” Tony said flippantly. “It’s the crown for dunce princesses.”

Why did so many of his conversations with Tony end up like this?

So he wouldn’t have to think of another answer and go further down this ridiculous rabbit hole, Rhodey kissed Tony.

There was a brief moment of startled stillness from Tony, but then he was kissing Rhodey back. Unlike last night, he didn’t deepen it, just giving Rhodey a very painfully sweet close-mouthed kiss.

Rhodey didn’t push for more either, all too aware of morning breath. But this was…nice. _Very_ nice.

Tony seemed to think the same, giving a low, content sigh in the back of his throat. He pulled back a little bit later, pressing his forehead against Rhodey’s and giving him a pleased smile. “Hey, lover.”

Rather giddily, Rhodey smiled back. “That going to be a thing now? Nicknames?”

Tony snorted, pressing in for another kiss. “If you haven’t caught up with the times yet, _honey_ , then you’re behind.”

“Sure, Tones.” Rhodey kissed him back, running his hand over Tony’s back. He could definitely fight fire with fire. “Pooh bear.”

The reaction was instant, Tony’s nose wrinkling in evident disgust. “ _Pooh bear_? Did you pull that from _Legally Blonde_?”

Guilty, but Rhodey wasn’t going to cop out to that. “What, I can’t give you a nickname after a certain bear with a predilection for honey?”

Tony gave him a _look_ that basically screamed “bitch, please,” coupled with eyebrows.

Rhodey kissed him again before Tony could say anything else. “We should probably get up soon.”

“Probably,” Tony agreed, and then proceeded to not move at all.

Rhodey huffed out an amused breath, pressing his nose back into Tony’s hair to hide his smile. They could laze around in bed a little longer before rejoining the masses.

* * *

About an hour – or two – later, Rhodey found himself in the kitchen and scrimmaging up a breakfast for himself. Due to the large appetites of some of the Avengers, the kitchen was always well-stocked with a variety of foods. There were a lot of microwaveable meals for those of the Avengers who couldn’t cook, but there were just as many ingredients for those who weren’t as likely to leave something simmering on the stove and then forget about it until hours later when the fire alarm went off or FRIDAY finally got through whatever engineering zone Tony had fallen into.

Rhodey was not one of those who couldn’t cook. Granted, his menu wasn’t large, but he could certainly throw together a breakfast for one. Or two, in this case, though Tony wasn’t in the kitchen because Pepper had called him for something regarding SI.

It was fine with Rhodey. He’d just join Tony in his workshop and spend some quality time with his best friend who was now also his partner.

They hadn’t necessarily talked about what it meant that they were now _together_ , but Tony had made it really clear that this wasn’t a one-off or something he was in for the short-term. Which were both pluses in Rhodey’s book, especially since he was only in it for the long-term in a way that would likely entail rings.

But not right now. Rings seemed more like an anniversary thing than something to spring on someone the day after they got together.

Not that marriage was necessary in the strictest sense of the word, but it would be nice. Especially rings of a sort, just to show that commitment that Rhodey knew Tony wanted so badly.

In any case, they were both mature adults and Tony had been in a relatively stable relationship with Pepper for a few years. He was a far cry from the Tony Stark from before Iron Man, who wouldn’t have known stability if it tangoed in front of him in a neon pink outfit.

Talking would be nice, if only to establish some boundaries and expectations, but Rhodey was assured that their relationship in general wasn’t something that needed to be discussed beyond what they had already agreed on yesterday. They were in this for the long haul, and Rhodey wasn’t going anywhere.

At some point while he was frying the bacon, Sam wandered into the kitchen to poke through the fridge for his own breakfast. He looked like he’d already gotten a workout in but hadn’t yet bothered with a shower.

“Morning, Rhodes.” Sam toasted him with the glass of orange juice he’d poured.

Rhodey gave him an amicable nod, more intent on eyeing the bacon to make sure that it was done just right. He was grateful that Sam had finally gotten the memo to not drink straight out of the bottle, which was a no go in a communal fridge. Though…Rhodey was still really unsure about Barton and what the hell he did with the milk.

“You seem happy this morning,” Sam said a few minutes later as Rhodey was frying some eggs in the leftover bacon grease.

“Am I?” Rhodey poked at the eggs delicately, making sure that the yolk wouldn’t break.

“You’re humming,” Sam pointed out neutrally.

Oh, he was. Rhodey hadn’t even realized.

He wasn’t even sure what tune it was beyond something that he’d probably heard on the radio that he couldn’t get out of his head. And now he wouldn’t get it out of his head for the rest of the day.

Shrugging, Rhodey turned the heat on low and let the eggs continue to cook, instead reaching for some fruits since he wanted something healthy this morning that wouldn’t give him or Tony a heart attack from too much fat. “Maybe it’s a morning for humming, Wilson. Ever think of that?”

Sam seemed to consider that statement, then shook his head. “Nah, not believing it, Rhodes. If it were that, I would have heard you humming way more instead of glowering into your coffee or trying to stare daggers at Steve’s head.”

Rhodey glanced at Sam, raised his eyebrows, and then returned his attention to chopping the fruits just so and putting them in those little tiny bowls that Tony had just for fruits. The diva.

Rogers was… Rogers was a complicated mess that Rhodey absolutely didn’t want to get into but probably would have to since Tony wanted to get along with him. And apparently he’d taken one step closer to doing that in a way that made him happy.

Rhodey all too well remembered the sinking feeling in his stomach when he’d realized that Tony wanted Rogers. It was a feeling he’d been so used to pushing aside in favor of trying to make sure Tony was happy that it had barely registered beyond the heavy sensation and the feeling of his heart twisting in his chest.

Only it turned out he’d misread that entire situation and Tony had just wanted to be friends with Rogers.

There was some squirmy embarrassment as Rhodey remembered that little misunderstanding and the confusion on Tony’s face. Though, in his defense, Tony could get scarily intense about people he cared about or gave a shit about, and Rogers fell in both those camps.

But it had just been a misunderstanding and things were cleared up. Things were _better_ than better now.

Tony had finally found out about Rhodey’s feelings and reciprocated them. They were in a _relationship_.

Yes, today was definitely a happy day.

“Steve and Stark worked things out,” Sam said when Rhodey didn’t say anything else.

“I know.” Rhodey had probably been the first person to hear about that.

“I suppose we should get used to those two spending time together now,” Sam continued speaking, finishing off the remainder of his orange juice.

Rhodey did not pull a face. “It won’t be nearly as awkward now.”

“You think so?” Sam shot him a look. “Steve’s awkward, man. _So_ awkward.”

Rhodey had the impression that really only applied to fancy events and the media, where Rogers became a bit of a stumbling mess who put his foot in his mouth more often than not. “He won’t be running out of rooms as often now, anyway.”

Sam conceded the point with a nod, rinsing his glass out and putting it in the dishwasher so Tony wouldn’t later hunt him down and beat him over the head with proper kitchen etiquette. (Rhodey had FRIDAY save the time that Tony had bugged the others about coffee grounds in the sink.)

“Whatever it looks like, I suppose we should be grateful,” Sam said. “It’ll be good for team dynamics if those two can keep it together. I guess it _is_ a morning for humming after all. I’ll see you around, Rhodes.” And then he stole a bit of bacon from one of the plates Rhodey had set out.

Rhodey huffed at the theft but didn’t say anything, not wanting to stay here too much longer when he could be spending time with Tony.

It wasn’t an unusual occurrence that he did spend time with Tony, but what _was_ new was that _they were together_. And that changed everything.

* * *

By the time Rhodey made it to the workshop, Tony was no longer on the phone but instead looking at a floating diagram of what looked like one of SI’s most recent projects. If Rhodey had to guess and was a betting man, he’d guess and bet that it was what Pepper had called him about.

Rhodey set the plates down on the closest available surface, making sure there wasn’t anything toxic or small that could find its way into the food. Then he turned towards Tony and before he could overthink it pressed a kiss to the top of Tony’s head.

Tony startled a little, head jerking back as he looked up at Rhodey with wide eyes. “Rhodey!”

Rhodey gave him a grin that was probably just a bit too dopey but he really didn’t care. “Morning. Again. I brought breakfast if that’s still something you do.”

Tony glanced over to where Rhodey had set the food, brow furrowing in the manner that mean he was thinking, and then looked back up to Rhodey. “You cooked?”

Rhodey tugged lightly at Tony’s ear in chastisement. “Excuse you; who cooked during our entire time at MIT?”

“No one since we either got takeout or ate at the cafeterias like proper college students or your mother sent some absolutely amazing leftovers.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “The answer I was looking for was ‘you, Rhodey, since whenever I try to cook anything beyond boiling water it goes wrong somehow.’”

“But that would be a lie, since you didn’t cook at MIT at all. So, really, the right answer to that would be the cooks at the restaurants we ordered takeout from and the diner ladies at the cafeterias.” Tony paused. “Do they call them diner ladies?”

Rhodey didn’t know, and he also didn’t want to go chasing down that rabbit hole. He reached over to one plate to grab a piece of toast and stuff it in Tony’s mouth when he opened it again to talk. “Eat before it gets cold.”

Tony brought a hand up to catch the rest of the toast before it could fall, giving Rhodey a displeased look as he chewed and swallowed. “Rude. Did your mother teach you those manners?”

Rhodey pulled over another one of those office-like wheely chairs that you could spin circles with, sitting down and taking both plates in hand. He shoved Tony’s into his hands. “My mother taught me to be the epitome of grace, obviously.”

Tony made a highly skeptical sound in the back of his throat but said nothing more in favor of picking up a piece of bacon and biting into it. An appreciative noise followed soon after, and Rhodey sat back in satisfaction as they ate their breakfast.

Tony needed to eat more regularly, especially with everything going on at the compound and the Avengers. He also needed to sleep more regularly, but Rhodey thought he could finagle that one pretty easily moving forward.

If there was one good thing that being partially paralyzed had done for him, it was that he didn’t have to be constantly off at the other side of the world while Tony was doing who knows what. He trusted Tony to be able to take care of himself, but that didn’t make the close shaves any easier.

The Chitauri invasion of New York was something that still haunted Rhodey’s nightmares on bad days. He had been on the other side of the world when that happened and not able to get anywhere close to New York by the time everything had finished. No, he’d had to listen to the reports of Tony Stark carrying a nuclear weapon through an alien portal and then pray that his best friend would make it back.

Tony had, but Rhodey was all too aware of how close it had been that day.

The incident with the Mandarin had been better, since Rhodey had been able to have his back throughout that no matter how much of a hot mess Tony had been during that time.

Tony was still a mess, but he was a mess who was slowly healing. And he was _Rhodey’s_ mess.

“So, uh…” Tony’s voice broke the silence and broke Rhodey out of his thoughts. “What are we doing here exactly?”

Rhodey looked up to him, brow furrowing. “I kinda thought we were eating breakfast, unless I missed something and it’s lunch.”

“No, no, it’s breakfast, definitely breakfast.” Tony mopped up some stray egg yolk with his remaining toast. “Best breakfast I’ve had in a while. And, you know, I’m not actually sure if I’ve had a lot of breakfasts recently—”

“You haven’t, boss,” FRIDAY said helpfully.

“Well, there you have it,” Tony said, rambling in that way Rhodey recognized as him being nervous and trying to hide it. “Definitely didn’t eat a whole lot of breakfast lately but yours is knocking the last one I had right out of the ballpark—” He cut himself off when Rhodey reached out to curl his fingers around one of his wrists.

“What’s going on, Tones?” Rhodey kept his voice gentle.

Tony stared down at where Rhodey was holding his wrist, glanced up to Rhodey, and then back down to his hand. A finger tapped anxiously against his plate.

Rhodey waited patiently, since sometimes it took Tony a while to get his words together in a way that made sense and wasn’t just rambling.

“I know we talked about this last night,” Tony started quietly, sounding a lot more composed, “but I’m still… What are we doing? What _are_ we?”

“Best friends,” Rhodey said, tone still gentle. “Partners. In all the ways that matter,” he added, knowing there were multiple meanings to the word and Tony would pick the wrong one. “I love you. I told you that.”

“ _In_ love?”

Rhodey stroked his thumb over the back of Tony’s wrist. “Yeah, just a bit.”

Tony’s laugh was quiet, sounding a little nervous. “You said that. Last night. And I…” He let out a breath, moving one hand over to rest it on top of Rhodey’s, holding it tightly. “I believe you.”

“But?”

Tony was silent for a few beats, not looking at Rhodey but instead at their hands. “You always brushed it off,” he whispered.

Rhodey closed his eyes, breathing in. After a moment, he set his plate on the nearest available surface and reached out to tug Tony’s away as well. Once their hands were free, he took both of Tony’s hands in his.

“I’m sorry about that,” Rhodey said quietly. “I told you why last night.”

“Didn’t think I had a serious relationship in me,” Tony muttered, but the words had no heat in them.

“At first, yeah,” Rhodey admitted. “But now? I know you, Tony. But just like you’re thinking right now, I didn’t think I had a chance with you either. Thought I blew it a long time ago.”

Tony was silent, studying their hands. After a minute or so, he looked up to Rhodey with a painfully shy smile. “You didn’t.”

Rhodey squeezed his hands, giving him a smile as well. “I’m real glad to hear that. As for what we’re doing…I know we’re not teenagers anymore, but dating is still the acceptable lingo, isn’t it? Like I said, Tones, I’m in this for the long haul.” Until death did them part, but that was probably too much at this point.

“I am, too.” Tony was still looking at him, eyes soft.

Rhodey said nothing, just smiled at him. After a moment, he nudged his chair over until he was sitting next to Tony and not across from him. This put him close enough to sling an arm over Tony’s shoulders and tug him into a sideways hug, pressing another kiss into that soft hair.

“I love you,” Rhodey said, still holding one of Tony’s hands. “And we’re together and dating, okay? Doesn’t mean I want you taking me out to Paris or Casablanca at the drop of a hat; I want exactly this, with maybe just a little more.”

Tony didn’t answer immediately, likely digesting that. Then, “That little more involving blowing something?”

It was a terrible joke. It was absolutely not funny.

And yet it still had Rhodey snorting in laughter because it was just so _Tony_.

“Yeah, sure,” Rhodey said once he’d managed to calm down. “Or what we did last night. That was also nice.”

Tony nodded, squeezing Rhodey’s hand. After a moment, he turned his head and gave Rhodey a kiss to his cheek. “Sounds good, honey.”

It wasn’t the first nickname Tony had given him. It wasn’t even the first time Tony had called him honey. But it carried more meaning now than it had before, and Rhodey’s chest warmed at the implications.

“Nothing has to change,” Rhodey said, just so Tony got this particular message loud and clear.

“No, things will,” Tony disagreed, but he didn’t look nervous anymore. “But in all the best ways. And I can’t wait to find out what those are.”

He didn’t wait for a response, leaning in to kiss Rhodey on the mouth. He didn’t deepen it, but it was all the sweeter for how genuine it was.

Rhodey’s hand slid from Tony’s shoulder to the back of his neck, holding him in place. He _did_ deepen the kiss, if only because he was only human and had been dreaming of something like this for years. Last night had been nice, but this was nicer still because it was daytime and absolutely couldn’t be misinterpreted as a sleepy dream.

Tony’s facial hair tickled slightly where it brushed against Rhodey’s skin, but it was soft and his skin warm. A hand came up to Rhodey’s arm, holding it tightly as they kissed.

There was a slight aftertaste of their breakfast, Tony’s lips still a little greasy from the bacon. But Rhodey didn’t have too much time to focus on that when Tony’s full focus on was on him.

It was always a little bit amazing to have Tony’s full focus on you, simply because his brain never stopped, always split into a dozen different directions. So when it stopped and narrowed in on one thing…

Tony leaned in closer, feet bumping against Rhodey’s, and there was a jolt as the chairs bumped against each other.

“Sorry,” Tony murmured against Rhodey’s lips, shifting again to catch Rhodey’s lips in another kiss.

Tony had better not be apologizing for the damn kiss.

Rhodey didn’t say it out loud, attention focused on more important matters. He slid the hand on Tony’s neck up to his hair, stroking his fingers through the soft strands that were so unlike Rhodey’s whenever he let it grow out.

Tony let out a soft hum in the back of his throat, slowly and methodologically kissing Rhodey with the deep, drugging kind of kiss that Rhodey had rarely been the recipient of.

_Bang!_

They startled, jolting apart at the unexpectedly loud sound that sounded like something had tipped over and spilled onto the floor.

Blinking, Rhodey gathered his scattered thoughts, refocusing on Tony’s face right in front of him. He looked similarly dazed though a lot quicker to pull himself together. He was already turning away from Rhodey to the direction of the sound.

“Dummy!” Tony sounded exasperated and annoyed. “What were you doing?”

Rhodey leaned over to look at what Dummy had just gotten himself into. It looked like the helper bot had tried to move a box and dropped it while doing so. It didn’t look like anything breakable had been in it aside from various odds and ends that would be a pain to clean up.

Were those _screws_?

Dummy beeped meekly, his arm drooping as he inspected the mess he’d made.

“It’s back to the dunce hat for you,” Tony said, still in that tone that was a mixture of exasperation and annoyance. It was now laced with an undercurrent of fondness. “No, don’t give me that look. If you don’t want to wear it, then you shouldn’t be doing things like this, should you?”

“Aw, lighten up, Tones.” Rhodey squeezed Tony’s arm. “I’m sure he had a good reason for it.”

“If his reason was to make more work for me, it was achieved.” Tony heaved a sigh, looking up to the ceiling.

Dummy made a sad beeping sound that also sounded vaguely apologetic. He started picking up some of the things that had fallen, only to stop and turn the box upright so he could put the items back inside.

Tony stood, moving over to Dummy to help him clean up the mess. “C’mon, buddy, let’s not make another mess here.”

Huffing out a small breath of laughter, Rhodey followed him to help as well, chasing after the smaller odds and ends that had scattered from the epicenter.

With the three of them working together, it didn’t take too long to tidy everything away and for Tony to put the box out of Dummy’s reach. There was another dismal beep at this, though Dummy seemed to understand the reasoning why.

Tony patted him, then went to put the dunce hat on him, tying it in place so it wouldn’t fall off. “Maybe next time you’ll be less like Butterfingers over there, hm? I don’t even remember the last time he dropped something.”

There was a satisfied sound from Butterfingers, who hadn’t lived up to his name in quite a while. Which was definitely an improvement over constantly shattered beakers or dropped tools on sensitive bits.

Tony’s face was fond as he spoke to Dummy. His tone was chastising, but even there a note of fondness was evident. His hands were gentle as he checked Dummy’s chassis for any marks or dents that might have been missed.

It wasn’t until Tony glanced back to him, eyebrows rising, that Rhodey realized he’d been staring like a sap. There was even a smile to complete the picture.

“What?” Tony turned to face him, head tilting slightly to the side. After a beat, he smiled slyly. “See something you like?”

“I see my best friend,” Rhodey responded.

Then, before Tony could give a witty rejoinder to that, Rhodey closed the distance and kissed him.

There wasn’t any more talking for a while.

* * *

Some pleasant hours later, Rhodey trailed his way back up to the main area of the compound, aware that he was probably grinning like a fool but too happy to make himself stop. Even if he tried, he suspected that he’d be right back to grinning five minutes later.

He was just… _giddy_.

This was more than he’d ever expected to happen – especially at his age – and it was _everything_. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities and Rhodey couldn’t wait to explore them with Tony.

He always knew he would be sticking with Tony for the rest of their lives as a best friend, and this didn’t change anything. It just amplified everything, made the future look bright and rosy.

And Rhodey really kind of wanted to share this excitement with _someone_. He would normally do it with Tony, but since Tony _was_ the cause for excitement that didn’t really work. He wasn’t close enough with any of the Avengers to walk up to one of them to start dishing out the details and didn’t really care to do it either with how weird the relationships still were.

Pepper was a definite option but a little awkward because of her own past relationship with Tony. But for lack of anything else, Rhodey would probably end up talking to her about it. If only also so she was updated as to their current relationship status because it would be impossible to hide from her in the long term.

So…Pepper. Definitely Pepper for sure.

Rhodey pulled out his phone, wondering if he should text her now and let her know. Or, wait, he should probably talk to Tony about this, shouldn’t he? Just so he was prepared if Pepper called him and started pumping him for all the details about what happened.

Reconsidering, Rhodey put the phone away and looked up to see Maximoff and Romanov in the living room. Maximoff was bent over some crocheting work, a frown of concentration on her face as she tried to crochet something that could possibly be a scarf. Or a blanket. Or just a piece of cloth.

Rhodey could say with absolute certainty that it was red.

Romanov was reading a book, the front cover in a language that looked like it might have been Russian, though she looked up on noticing Rhodey passing by. She gave him a brief nod of acknowledgement.

Rhodey returned the nod, since there wasn’t a reason to be rude to her. Sure, was he still a little sore about things? Yes. Should it damage their working relationship? Absolutely not. He was a professional, and he had nothing professional against Romanov.

Now, if she started getting snide with Tony again, all bets were off. Not that Rhodey suspected she would considering the reason she was here and not behind bars was because of Tony’s hard work. And Rhodey’s, but Tony had been the one to really push for it.

“You look happy.” Romanov’s voice was a surprise, as was the comment.

Rhodey realized just why she had said it when he noticed he was again smiling like a fool at the thought of Tony. He didn’t quite manage to compose his face, but at least he wasn’t smiling like an idiot anymore. “Lots of reasons to be enjoying my life, you know. Sun’s out and shining and weather’s nice for a change.”

Romanov gave a hum that sounded entirely too skeptical. “Yesterday was also nice and you didn’t look nearly as happy.”

Maximoff glanced up to Rhodey, pausing in her crocheting. She didn’t say anything, eyes flicking over to Romanov and then back to whatever the hell she was making.

“Maybe I had some good news or maybe yesterday was just a bad day,” Rhodey said noncommittally, ignoring Maximoff.

Romanov hummed again, this time one that sounded a little more considering. She turned a page in her book. “Good news.” Her tone was neutral.

“You know you shouldn’t watch the news all the time,” Rhodey said. “Sure, it’s mostly truthful, but it rarely shows the good stories that actually make you happy.”

One of Romanov’s perfectly coiffed eyebrows lifted. She said nothing. The eyebrow did all the work for her.

“Steve’s happy, too,” Maximoff murmured under her breath, just loud enough for Rhodey to hear.

Romanov relaxed a little, turning her head in Maximoff’s direction. “He did seem a little lighter this morning.”

“I caught him smiling in the gym. He’s normally always frowning whenever he beats up one of those bags.”

“I suppose he has a lot to be smiling about,” Romanov said, glancing to Rhodey.

“And _you’re_ happy about it?” Maximoff asked Rhodey pointedly.

Rhodey refused to be cowed, folding his arms over his chest and staring her down. “Happy about…?”

“You don’t like Steve,” Maximoff said, tone just on the edge of too snide.

“Never said I didn’t like him,” Rhodey said entirely honestly. Did he sometimes think uncharitably about Steve Rogers’s life choices? Yes. Did that mean he disliked him? No.

Maximoff scoffed under her breath, giving Rhodey a disbelieving look. “You don’t like Steve,” she repeated obstinately. “So why are you happy about him and Stark?”

Rhodey sighed, then told himself to not ream out the youngest member of their team. Full-time member, anyway. Peter was younger still. “I know this might be a little hard for you to understand sometimes, Maximoff, but Tony’s my best friend. I like seeing him happy.”

Maximoff’s nose wrinkled at the last comment, likely at the image of Tony being _happy_.

Rhodey had nothing professional against Romanov. He _did_ have everything professional _and_ personal against Maximoff with how she treated and talked about Tony. She’d improved since returning to the compound since Tony had been insistent on her returning safely with everyone else and she couldn’t throw that into his face so easily. Not with her visa and placement on the Avengers dependent on good behavior and actually being a responsible adult.

But Rhodey couldn’t forget what it had been like before everything. With Maximoff throwing shade at Tony every moment she could and still nursing a grudge the size of Manhattan even though Tony had done nothing to justify it. It had made working with her difficult because while she had been coolly polite with Rhodey he couldn’t let those comments towards Tony slide.

And _that_ had caused all sorts of friction between them once Maximoff realized that Rhodey was very firmly in Tony’s corner in a way the others weren’t.

“You have something to say?” Rhodey asked in a carefully even tone.

Shaking her head jerkily, Maximoff turned her attention back to crocheting, her hand movements short and abrupt as she resumed.

Romanov watched her for a moment, then looked up to Rhodey. “It is good to see the two of them happy,” she told him, sounding entirely honest. “I’m glad you approve. I know Steve was worrying about it.”

Rhodey wasn’t sure he necessarily _approved_ , but it wasn’t his choice to make. Tony deserved better, but Tony also cared for this team and wanted to make sure they were okay. He _also_ continued to care for Rogers despite everything that had happened. It was just a sign of Tony’s big heart, and Rhodey dearly hoped it wouldn’t be hurt again.

He shrugged. “Tony will do what Tony does.”

Romanov nodded, expression amused. “He wouldn’t be Tony otherwise.”

Maximoff remained silent, but the vibe coming off her was distinctly disgruntled.

“No, he wouldn’t.” Rhodey looked between the two. If he was here already, he might as well make sure all his bases were covered. “You two need something or everything still good?”

“No, it’s fine,” Romanov said graciously. “I won’t keep you.”

“Fine,” Maximoff said a moment later and much less graciously.

Rhodey gave Romanov a nod, then left them to their silent companionship. He didn’t want to spend more time with them than he needed to. Especially Maximoff.

He meandered through the compound’s halls, considering how soon was too soon to go back to Tony. There was no need to be attached to his hip, but also he just kind of wanted to spend some time with him. And probably stare at him like a lovesick loon. Because he could totally do that now.

It wasn’t like he’d been kicked out of the workshop for being a distraction.

There were other things he could be doing at the moment – like paperwork – but Rhodey really didn’t want to do paperwork. Besides, he’d probably just end up staring off into the distance and not get any work done because he was too busy being happy about everything that had happened.

Damn, he’d really like to talk to someone about this…

Happy was another option, but he and Pepper were very close nowadays, and he didn’t think Happy would keep it a secret from her. Which would lead to hurt feelings from Pepper because Rhodey and Tony didn’t tell her personally and that would be another mess in of itself…

Rhodey should probably have more friends than he did. It wasn’t that he hadn’t kept in touch with people in the Air Force, but none of them had been close friends the way Tony and Pepper were. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had been repealed for some time, but that didn’t mean that talking about these things was any easier.

Besides, he’d never been so close to his Air Force buds that he could call them up and complain about his love life or lack of. There’d been the good natured joking about dating and eventually settling down, but Rhodey had never really invested himself in that for various reasons.

His fingers tapped idly against the back of his phone as he considered what to do. Without much conscious thought, his feet started back towards Tony’s workshop.

He didn’t pass by the room with Romanov and Maximoff, but his route did take him by the kitchen, where he ran into Rogers. Rogers had clearly just eaten something and cleaned up after himself and looked as startled as Rhodey felt to run into him.

They didn’t try to avoid each other, but they also didn’t seek each other out either. It was a mutually agreed upon decision that meant less stress and fewer awkward silences for everyone.

Despite himself, Rhodey glanced into the kitchen. It was squeaky clean. Someone had clearly taken Tony’s comments on kitchen cleanliness to heart.

Rogers shifted his weight, shoulders shrinking in and arms folding over his chest. “Ah, Colonel.”

Rhodey wondered how quickly he could extract himself from this conversation without it seeming rude. “Rogers.” There, they could go their separate ways now.

“How are you doing?” Rogers asked, swiftly killing any of Rhodey’s hopes that this would be a painless conversation.

“Can’t complain,” Rhodey said noncommittally. “Thanks for cleaning the kitchen.”

Rogers flushed a little, glancing over his shoulder to said kitchen. “Well. You know. Least I can do, and Tony doesn’t like a mess in there.”

No, Tony didn’t. Practically all his personal spaces were neatly organized and clean, a spillover from his habits in the workshop because if you mixed up chemical A with metal B and not metal A, something bad could happen.

This conversation had already lasted longer than any they’d had without Tony there to force them to play more nicely, and it didn’t show any sign of ending. Rogers looked like there was something on the tip of his tongue but didn’t know how to spit it out. Unfortunately for him, Rhodey wasn’t in the mood to help him with that.

Unfortunately for Rhodey, Rogers was stubborn and brave enough to go ahead and say it after the awkward silence stretched on for several moments longer. “I spoke to Tony yesterday.”

Rhodey was aware. He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement but said nothing else.

“There was a bit of a misunderstanding that got cleared up,” Rogers continued, shifting his weight around. “I just wanted to know…has he spoken to you?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Rhodey said bluntly, tone neutral.

“You’re both on the team,” Rogers pointed out. “I’d like to know if two of my teammates are, uh…getting along even better than before.”

Rhodey gave him a long look. “Of all of us, I think Tony and I are not the two you need to be concerned about when it comes to interpersonal dynamics.”

There was a faint wince, but Rogers didn’t back down. “I know that, Colonel. But if you two are…ah…dating?”

“Again, I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Captain.”

“Maybe it’s not, but I’d like to know that Tony’s happy,” Rogers said, shrugging.

Rhodey resisted giving Rogers his own patented _son, c’mon_ look that he’d picked up from his own parents. “You could always ask him that yourself.”

Rogers made a face, then sighed. “Look, uh…Colonel. Rhodes. I know…we’re not on the best terms right now. I know why. But I’d like to also try to be friends with you if that’s something that’s possible. Or if not friends then maybe something better than what we have right now?”

Oh. Oh, it was going to be like that now.

“We don’t all need to be friends with each other, Captain,” Rhodey said. “We work well together as a team”—now at any rate—“and that’s really all that’s required.”

There was a nod of agreement but Rogers had that familiar stubborn expression. “I know, Colonel, but I’d like to make things better if possible. The Avengers is a team, but I hope that it can be more than that.”

“Do you?” The words were out before Rhodey could reconsider them.

Rogers’s brow furrowed, a wrinkle forming on his forehead. “What do you mean?’

Fuck it. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Do you really hope that the Avengers can be more than a team, Captain? That’s not something I’ve heard from you before. Tony, maybe. But you?”

The furrow deepened, and Rogers opened his mouth. For a second, it looked like he was about to fire something back that was so reminiscent of his hot temper. Then the moment was gone, and he shut his mouth, taking a deep breath.

“You’re right,” Rogers said, voice calm. “I used to say that the Avengers were like a family, but they weren’t. That’s – that’s on me. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m trying to fix them. It shouldn’t just be on Tony or on you. I want to be better here and make things better. And this is fine”—he gestured between the two of them—“but I’d like it to be better than that if possible.”

Rhodey studied him for a long moment. Rogers seemed to be entirely serious about this, even looking a little anxious as he shifted his weight from leg to leg. He relented. Just a little. He could be nice.

“Friendship’s a two way street, Rogers,” Rhodey said, softening his tone slightly. “What do you want here?”

Rogers blinked, looking surprised. “Want? I don’t want anything.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “No, really. Do you want us all to be one big happy family? I’m sorry to tell you this, but that’s not very likely to happen. Or do you just want this to happen because you’re on better terms with Tony? There’s no need to be friends with me just because you’re friends with Tony. We’re adults. We can handle having different relationships.”

Rogers’s frown deepened as Rhodey kept speaking, but he didn’t interrupt. But he started speaking the moment Rhodey was done. “It’s not just because of Tony. Of course, I’d like us to be friends because that would be nice – I think that might make Tony happy—”

“Know him that well, do you?” Rhodey said before he could think the better of it.

Rogers didn’t rise to the bait. “I think it might make him happy,” he repeated. “But I’d also just like to do it because I like and respect you, Colonel. You’re a great friend and a great person.”

Okay, that was a new one. Like, sure, Rhodey knew he was a great friend. He was also a good person because he tried to be. But to hear Rogers tell him that to his face?

“Hey, sorry to interrupt this heart-to-heart – it’s so incredibly touching – but you guys are blocking the kitchen.”

Rhodey jumped at the sound of Barton’s voice, dropping his arms and turning to where Barton was standing right in the hallway. He was awkwardly rubbing at his neck, a clear signal that he’d been standing there for a while.

From Rogers’s small jump, he hadn’t noticed Barton’s arrival either.

Rhodey wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed in Rogers or amused because Barton’s sneaky skills were still up to snuff.

“Seriously,” Barton said, “can I get to the kitchen? A man’s got to eat.”

Taking the out that Barton gave him, Rhodey nodded to Rogers, then started walking past Barton.

Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Rhodey was going to find Tony and stay there. Where he wanted to be and not be roped into uncomfortable conversations with Rogers.

Thankfully, Rhodey didn’t see anyone else. This was probably also due to FRIDAY being extremely helpful and pointing him in the direction of where no one was, so Rhodey had an unobstructed path to freedom and Tony.

Tony was still in the workshop when Rhodey found him. Tony was also surprised when Rhodey wheeled up in a stool of his own and slumped against Tony’s back.

Tony hadn’t been doing anything dangerous. Rhodey had checked.

“Well, hello,” Tony said, sounding surprised and amused. He shifted a bit, and Rhodey picked himself up just enough to drop his chin on Tony’s shoulder.

“Hey there yourself,” Rhodey said, chest warm. That spot right behind Tony’s ear looked inviting. Rhodey resisted the urge to kiss it for all of a second before giving in and kissing it because he was allowed to now.

There was a startled noise from Tony that sounded suspiciously close to a squeak. Rhodey kissed the same spot again to see if he could replicate the noise. To his disappointment, the noise did not reoccur, though Tony’s breath hitched gratifyingly.

Something to experiment with later.

Tony’s neck _was_ looking a little pink, so Rhodey would take that as a victory.

Tony cleared his throat. “You, uh, comfortable there, sour patch?”

“Very.” Rhodey kissed Tony’s neck, then maneuvered his stool to right next to Tony. He kept his back to the table, leaning an elbow on a safe spot while he turned towards Tony.

Tony grinned warmly at him, the laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. He looked good. Very good. Much better than he’d been recently.

Rhodey kissed him, leaning in before he realized what he was doing. There was another surprised noise from Tony, but then he was kissing back. A hand rested at Rhodey’s neck, Tony’s thumb stroking the skin.

They kissed for a few moments longer, and then Rhodey pulled away, a little sheepishly because they weren’t teenagers and he had _some_ impulse control. Or should. It tended to disappear around Tony.

Tony didn’t let Rhodey pull away far, tugging him back in for another kiss, this one significantly filthier than the one from before and leaving Rhodey’s head spinning by the time Tony let him go.

“So.” Tony sounded breathless and looked flushed, two signs that he wasn’t as unaffected as he was pretending to be. “Did you come down here to make out like horny teenagers?”

Rhodey made a face at him, then pulled away further before he was tempted to kiss Tony again. The increased distance didn’t help. He would just have to rely on his own restraint. “I think our backs would have several complaints about that, and we’ll both regret it tomorrow.”

“Not true. I have a perfectly serviceable couch over there that could be given a christening. De-virgining. Breaking in.”

“Stop talking. Please.”

Tony gave him a salacious grin. “I thought you liked it when I talked.”

“Not about couches.”

“Buuut you’d like it if I talked about other things?”

There was no good answer to that, so Rhodey changed the subject. “Talking’s good. In fact, I was wondering about how we’re going to tell Pepper.”

The amusement on Tony’s face faded, and he looked thoughtful. He leaned back slightly, though didn’t start the little spinny half-circles he tended to do when he was lost in thought and sitting on these stools. “We should do that.”

“Yeah, Tones, we should.” Rhodey hesitated, a pit in his stomach. “Did you think we _wouldn’t_ tell her?”

Tony blinked, refocusing on Rhodey. “What? No. I just…um. It’s awkward, isn’t it? I dated her before, then we broke up, and you’re friends with her and probably heard a lot of the dirty details, and now _we’re_ dating and Pepper has to know about it… Awkward. Weird.”

Rhodey reached out to take his hand, squeezing it. He was not smiling because this wasn’t a situation to be smiling about. Not when Tony was worried about this. “Just a little, yeah. She doesn’t _have_ to know about it, but I think she’d like to. She’s our friend.”

Tony breathed in, expression considering and still a bit nervous. He dropped his eyes to their hands. “She is. We should tell her, right? That’d be the right thing to do.”

“It’s probably a good idea, yeah.”

“Then we should,” Tony said, nodding. He looked up to Rhodey, smiling. “Should we do it now?”

Rhodey blinked, not expecting the sudden suggestion. “Now?”

“Yeah, now. No time like the present, right? FRI, call up Pepper, will you?”

“Calling Ms. Potts, boss.” FRIDAY sounded pleased.

Due to long experience with previous calls from Tony, Pepper picked up practically instantly. “ _Tony? What’s wrong? I thought we talked about everything we needed to with the designs. I’m expecting them by Friday and that’s not Monday regardless of what you like to tell me about time being fake._ ”

Rhodey snorted, giving Tony a look.

Tony returned it, grinning slightly. “Time’s definitely fake, Pep, but that’s not why I’m calling. I’ve, uh…something to say. We both do.”

There was a short pause. “ _We?_ ”

Rhodey cleared his throat. “Hi, Pepper. You’re on speaker.”

“ _Oh, Rhodey._ ” Pepper’s voice warmed further. “ _How are you? What are you and Tony plotting now? Or have plotted? I haven’t seen anything in the news that says I need to bail either of you out for being reckless._ ”

“I’m hurt that you think we’re plotting anything,” Tony objected, affecting an injured tone. “What if we just wanted to call you out of love?”

“ _…Rhodey literally just said you two have something to say._ ”

Rhodey pinched Tony before he could dig the hole any deeper, giving him a pointed look.

Tony made a face back, then sighed, wiggling in his seat a little. “Uh, right. So. Um. Rhodey and I. We may be. Dating? Seeing each other? Stepping out? Making—” The rest of what he might have said was muffled by Rhodey’s hand.

There was a lengthy pause on Pepper’s end. “ _…Oh. Ah. Congratulations. That’s fantastic._ ” She could have sounded a little more enthused about it, but it seemed like she was more stunned than anything else. “ _When did this happen?_ ”

“Last night,” Rhodey answered, dropping his hand from Tony’s mouth before it was licked. He pinched Tony again, and then got an elbow to his side in retaliation.

“ _I see. That’s…_ ” Pepper took a breath. When she spoke again, her voice was much warmer. “ _That’s really fantastic. I’m happy for you two._ ”

Some tension eased out of Tony. “I’m happy for us, too.”

“Dork,” Rhodey murmured, an irresistible rush of fondness sweeping over him.

“ _Does this mean we can do double dates now?_ ” Pepper asked. “ _There are some amazing restaurants Happy and I have been meaning to try out…_ ”

Tony glanced to Rhodey, a soft happy smile on his face. “So long as no one steals my boyfriend, that sounds like a great plan.”

“I think that’s my line,” Rhodey said. “Shouldn’t I be more worried about someone stealing you?”

“Please,” Tony scoffed. “They can try all they want, but I’d just steal myself back. With interest.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sure it does.”

“ _I’ll leave you two to it,_ ” Pepper interrupted them, sounding amused and fond. “ _I’ll let Happy know the happy news, so expect to hear from him sometime soon._ ”

“He hasn’t figured out the camera thing yet, has he?” Tony asked.

“ _Be nice, Tony._ ”

“That’s a no.”

The last video call Rhodey had with Happy had been mostly to the fish he and Pepper had taken to keeping at their place. It was safe to say Happy had not figured the camera thing out yet, even though he worked for Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries.

Pepper hung up before any other dispersions could be cast on Happy’s technological ineptitude.

Tony was looking to where her picture was still hanging in the air, a red CALL DISCONNECTED underneath the image. His expression was soft and a little wistful, but there was no regret there. Tony had moved on from Pepper a while ago.

Tony glanced over to Rhodey, catching him looking at him with what must have been a dopey expression. He cocked an eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at you,” Rhodey responded automatically.

Tony’s smile was a little flustered and a little shy but seemed pleased nonetheless. “Sap.”

“Ah, but I’m _your_ sap now,” Rhodey said, grinning at him.

“Now?” Tony turned more fully towards him, sliding a hand up Rhodey’s chest to his collarbone. “Au contraire, my dear platypus… You’ve always been my sap.”

Rhodey wrapped his hand around Tony’s where it was idly stroking along his collarbone. He swept his thumb over Tony’s hand, leaning in closer to him. “And you’ve always been my pain in the ass.”

Tony’s eyebrows flew up, an expression of sheer delight crossing his face.

Rhodey had enough time to realize that he’d used an absolutely terrible phrase there that would bite him if he didn’t stop Tony from saying exactly what he was thinking right now. In lieu of anything else to do, Rhodey closed the rest of the distance between them and kissed him.

There was a garbled noise of protest into Rhodey’s mouth, but then Tony kissed him back, his other hand going to Rhodey’s back. The hand at Rhodey’s front fisted in his shirt, holding him in place.

Not that Rhodey had any intention of going anywhere anytime soon. He had what he wanted in his arms right here, safe and sound, and he was going to keep it.

Tony was warm and sturdy under his hands, soft in the right places and firm in his arms and upper back. He did so much work with his hands and arms that it wasn’t unexpected. Tony had more than once supported Rhodey during the days when he’d learned how to walk all over again.

Rhodey kissed him and kissed him, sliding a hand up to the side of Tony’s face and then into his hair. It was soft and fluffy, no gel in it today and just like how Rhodey preferred it.

Tony made a small groaning sound in the back of his throat, leaning into Rhodey.

The added pressure pushed Rhodey’s stool back, and Tony’s rolled with him. There was a small jolt as the wheels hit the table leg, and Rhodey pulled away from Tony with a rough inhale, feeling flushed.

Tony looked just as flushed, lips red and wet, and he ran his tongue over them, blinking at Rhodey. “Whoops.” His voice was hoarse.

“Whoops,” Rhodey echoed, forcing his fingers to let go of Tony before he reeled him in for another kiss.

Tony’s tongue darted out again, running over his lips, and he breathed in. “Should we move this to someplace more comfortable?”

Despite himself, Rhodey glanced over to where Tony’s workshop couch was situated. It was a bit grimy but definitely a couch and more comfortable than most couches had a right to be because it was Tony Stark’s couch.

“It’s not that bad,” Tony said coaxingly, patting down Rhodey’s shirt where he’d rumpled it up. “Nice and comfortable… _Great_ for make outs…”

Rhodey looked back to him, eyebrows furrowed. “Who have you been making out with down here?”

“Myself,” Tony said cheerfully. “All on my lonesome… But if you’re here, it won’t be quite so lonely…?”

Rhodey snorted, shoving Tony gently and sending him wheeling back a few inches. “Don’t try any of those lines on me, Tones.”

“Why not?” Tony asked, fluttering his eyes at him. “Are they working?”

“They’re _not_ working,” Rhodey said, rolling his eyes and pushing Tony back again when he nudged closer. “And if you want anything to happen on that couch, you won’t try another.”

Tony pouted, which should not have looked as cute as it did on a man his age.

Rhodey laughed at him, then reached to ruffle his hair when Tony’s face twisted to mock indignation. “C’mon; I hear truly _fantastic_ things about this couch. Would be a shame if I never got to experience it myself.”

“Oh, you’re on, honey bear.” Tony stood, then helped pull Rhodey to his feet.

The braces on his legs whirred into motion, still just a little clumsy when it came to shifting from sitting to standing. Tony glanced down at them, brow creasing in what Rhodey long recognized as his thinking face.

That was the last thing Rhodey wanted now. He didn’t want Tony thinking about how to upgrade his braces further. It had been a few weeks since the last upgrade and Rhodey was just fine with these for now. He was sure that Tony would be coming out with something even better next time, but he didn’t need next time to be now.

Upright now, Rhodey stepped in close, pressing into Tony’s space and kissing him, pressing open his mouth and tasting him. There was a faint taste of Tony’s coffee but beyond that it was only Tony and he was warm and kissing him back eagerly, sucking on Rhodey’s tongue before he realized what was happening.

Rhodey moaned, then pressed in, running his hands down Tony’s back and hauling him closer.

Tony pushed in, pressing him backwards until he hit the edge of the table, jostling it.

It was enough to jolt Rhodey back into awareness and that this was _not_ the couch..

Tony kissed him again before Rhodey could properly formulate his thoughts, and Rhodey lost himself to it, mouth tingling and warmth spreading from all points of contact.

“Wait,” Rhodey managed, breaking apart just enough to gasp the word out.

“Mm?” Tony caught his mouth again, sucking on Rhodey’s lower lip and sending his thoughts spinning.

A long, dizzying moment later, Rhodey pulled his thoughts back together long enough to manage another breathless “Couch—” before Tony was back to swallowing any other protests he could make.

“Right,” Tony murmured raggedly against Rhodey’s lips what could have been seconds or minutes of more kissing later. “Couch.”

Rhodey managed a small sound of agreement before Tony was pulling him away from the table and then tugging him towards the couch. He stumbled a little, feet not quite under him, but Tony had him because he always had him.

They got sidetracked halfway because Tony looked far too kissable for Rhodey to just stop and he had zero impulse control when it came to him. Tony indulged him for a moment and then continued tugging Rhodey backwards slowly, clearly having more brainpower than Rhodey did at the moment.

Rhodey only realized they’d reached the couch when Tony stopped moving.

Tony kissed him deeply for another long moment, then pulled away just enough to murmur, “How do you want it?”

It took Rhodey’s kiss-addled brain a few seconds to piece together what Tony meant by that. And then he had to think about it.

The couch was long enough that they could stretch out on it. But they could also sit on it…?

Rhodey pushed Tony down onto the couch, sitting down next to him and pulling him into another kiss. He was so warm, flushed with heat and heart pounding at the fact that he _could have this_. So many years of pushing everything away and down and now it wasn’t a dream and it was _real_.

Tony’s hand came to rest at his neck, the other stroking random patterns over Rhodey’s back and side like he wasn’t sure where to put it.

Rhodey was barely aware of his own hands, but he had a tight grip on Tony’s shirt, more focused on the things Tony was doing with his tongue that had his brain short-circuiting like a bad light bulb.

At some point, long dizzying and flushed ages later, Tony started pulling back but taking Rhodey with him. Rhodey wasn’t sure why until Tony started dropping to the couch, tugging Rhodey down to lie on top of him.

Rhodey followed, only to wince when his back protested the contortion that would result. He pulled away unwillingly. “Legs—”

“Right, yeah—”

They spent an ungraceful few moments rearranging themselves, and then Tony immediately tugged him back down for a series of kisses, speaking in-between each one. “So”—kiss—“lucky.” There was a longer kiss here. “Teenage”—a shorter kiss—“me’s dreams”—he kissed Rhodey deeply—“come true.”

Rhodey was no slouch at kissing, but Tony had taken it to an art form as he had pretty much everything else he was interested in. He could barely think, arousal and warmth and sheer giddy happiness flooding through him.

He didn’t say anything, just kissing Tony back.

Time was swimmy and slow, narrowing down to the slide of lips and wet noises. Rhodey was so warm, skin tingling and flushed everywhere Tony touched him,, and he was definitely reacting in other ways that they hadn’t talked about. He was sure Tony was reacting similarly, but he wasn’t pushing for more.

It was nice – _really_ fucking fantastic – and Rhodey wasn’t sure how much time passed kissing. Only that his mouth was sensitive, hot, and a little sore when Tony began tapering the kisses off.

Tony pressed a few last kisses to Rhodey’s mouth, then kissed his cheek, breathing loud and ragged.

Rhodey’s heart pounded in his ears, matching the rhythm of his breathing, and he dropped his head to Tony’s shoulder, pressing his forehead to Tony’s shirt as he struggled to regulate his breathing. His lips were tingling and felt swollen.

Tony ran his hands down over Rhodey’s back, stopping just where Rhodey still had sensation. He slipped a hand under Rhodey’s shirt, then started running circles over the skin.

Warmth and tingles spread out from the gentle touch. Rhodey pressed his forehead harder against Tony’s shoulder, swallowing down a rush of love and fondness for this man. He dragged in a few more long breaths, his breathing finally steadying as his heart slowed as well.

Once he was suitably composed, Rhodey lifted his head to give Tony a smile that probably looked very dopey. Tony looked like he had been very thoroughly kissed, a red flush to his cheeks and his eyes dark. He had a soft expression and a smile on his face as he looked up to Rhodey.

“Hey,” Rhodey said quietly, “I love you, you dork.”

Tony’s smile broadened into a small grin, his eyes crinkling. “I know.”

Rhodey snorted at the totally not cool reference, too giddy to pretend to be miffed at it. He’d give his own back later. He just dropped his head to kiss Tony again, more gently than before.

They didn’t really have anything to do, so they could spend some time just making out like horny teenagers.

* * *

Life couldn’t be all about making out and lazing around in the safety of Tony’s workshop and away from prying eyes and ears. Besides, Rhodey loved Tony, but he didn’t want to be around him 24/7. That was a surefire recipe to madness and explosions.

And also he was rapidly realizing he had zero impulse control around him now that he could kiss him whenever he wanted. So. Best not to be in constant proximity to him.

Rhodey did have a lot more impulse control when they were around the other Avengers, so the next morning’s training session was fine and dandy.

Rogers liked running them through some team building exercises and pairing them up with different people. He wasn’t the sole leader of the Avengers anymore – it was a duty split between him, Tony, and Rhodey – but he had a lot of good ideas when it came to training programs.

Despite his youth and naivety at times, Rogers had an instinctive grasp of how to make people work together and do so well. It was partly charisma and partly pure talent that was now being honed through practice and observation.

The Avengers roster wasn’t large. Peter occasionally dropped by for training if it was a weekend, but otherwise it was just the people at the compound. Scott Lang was mostly on the other side of the country but occasionally dropped by for training purposes along with Hope Pym.

There were other enhanced individuals in New York City. Rhodey had heard the stories of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. The man was _not_ subtle. There was also news about an invulnerable superhero in Harlem, and Rhodey didn’t think that was the last of them. Still, they were under the radar, and the Accords as they currently stood didn’t apply to people who weren’t going to be working internationally.

Rhodey doubted the low-key superheroes in New York City who stuck to their own neighborhoods wanted to work internationally. Nah, that fell to the flashier superheroes like Tony and Rogers.

In any case, the Accords required regular training to make sure everyone kept their skills sharp and were well-trained. It was required for Maximoff, and she had drastically improved from what Rhodey remembered earlier. He still wouldn’t let her go on any important missions because of her emotional volatility, but he’d okay a few small excursions.

This morning it was a lot of flight training to work in conjunction with their grounded team members. There were four who were primarily grounded – Rogers, Barton, Romanov, and Maximoff. Maximoff could manage a facsimile of flight, but it was something she was still working on.

Sam, Tony, Rhodey, and Vision had gotten very used to working in teams in the air and on the ground, but it was always good to be prepared for any kind of team-ups. And work out kinks in new technology.

Tony had a new suit he was trying out with technology that he’d been working on for the past several months. It was nanites, but not nanites in a way that Rhodey had ever really seen them or conceptualized them being used before.

It was amazing. _Tony_ was amazing, even if Rhodey would limit the amount of times he’d say so because that sounded sappy.

Rhodey knew Tony had a terrible fear of ever being caught without the armor. Of being alone and helpless and with no escape because everything had gone to shit. It was a fear that had heightened in Siberia when he’d been left alone in a frozen bunker with a defunct suit and almost no contact with FRIDAY.

If Vision hadn’t checked on him…

Well, Rhodey didn’t like thinking about that time for a reason.

Even if Tony apparently thought about it all too often to the point where he’d designed a suit that he could carry around in a miniaturized arc reactor. The arc reactor served as a battery and as a case to hold the nanites that would now form his suit.

It was amazing because it cut out all the wires and other fiddly bits that Rhodey had in his suit. It was also hilarious as hell because Tony was still working out the kinks and was left tapping at the arc reactor housing a few too many times before it started working.

The suit otherwise worked like a charm. Rhodey wasn’t able to spend too much time looking at it while he was focusing on teaming up with Barton, but Tony was still in the air once they called it quits and Rhodey was able to spend some time looking up at his partner testing out other features of the suit.

He was barely cognizant of Barton waving him goodbye, but he definitely noticed Vision descending to stand next to him.

Rhodey nodded to him in greeting, then looked back up to where Tony was seeing how many rockets he could create with the nanites. So far he’d managed two and was waving a hand as if that would make more appear.

Vision watched the spectacle as well for a brief time, then broke the silence. “I am pleased that you two are happy.”

Blinking, Rhodey looked to him. Vision’s expression was always difficult to read, but he was getting better at interpreting what it looked like. Right now, Rhodey thought he looked soft and definitely pleased.

“Thanks,” Rhodey answered, returning his focus to Tony. He’d managed a total of five rockets and was firing them at the targets Barton had been using for target practice.

“It was a long time coming,” Vision continued in a soft tone.

Rhodey paused, evaluating that statement. He was a little flushed and self-conscious at the notion that he’d been so obvious that Vision could pick it up. But then…he did have the mind stone embedded in his forehead. That was a reason for it, right?

“Mr. Stark has always thought highly of you,” Vision said when Rhodey didn’t speak. “I remember…” He trailed off, looking up to Tony, expression distant. It was another moment, and then he shook his head slightly before dropping his gaze to Rhodey. “He has always thought highly of you,” he repeated. “It is good you two have found each other.”

“Yeah,” Rhodey managed, voice a little thick. “I’m glad, too.”

Rogers finished up with whatever he was doing with Sam, clapping him on the back and then heading over to Rhodey and Vision. He stopped by Vision’s side, also turning his gaze up to where Tony was doing some aerial loops through the sky.

“That armor really is something,” Rogers commented, a faint note of awe in his voice.

“It really is,” Rhodey agreed.

“I’ve seen something similar in Wakanda,” Rogers said, “but it was different than what he’s come up with.”

Rhodey was aware of how technologically advanced Wakanda was. Tony had had a lot to say about it – mostly positive – but Wakanda also had the advantage of using vibranium as a power source. It wasn’t an advantage Tony had, which made his achievements all the better.

Or so Rhodey thought. He would readily admit he was biased as hell.

“Great minds think alike,” Rhodey noted. “Or so they say.”

“My ears are burning,” Tony said, coming to land in front of them. “Are you talking about little ol’ me?”

“Nah, we’re talking about Vision’s terrible taste in cooking,” Rhodey responded immediately.

Vision frowned. “I don’t cook.”

“See, terrible.”

Tony tilted his head, probably smiling or grinning judging from his body language. There was a moment, and then he tilted his head again.

“You going to take that off?” Rhodey asked, indicating the suit.

“It _should_ …” Tony trailed off in the manner that suggested he was muttering under his breath. One hand came up to his helmet, tapping the side of it. “Haven’t gotten the nanites as responsive as they should be. Or maybe I’m not communicating properly…?” It was a beat, and then his helmet seamlessly retreated, melting into the rest of the suit. He blinked at Rhodey, Vision, and Rogers, then broke into a grin. “Got it!”

Rhodey snorted at Tony’s obvious glee, returning the grin. “Don’t get so cocky. You only got the helmet off. What about the rest of it there?”

“All in due time, padawan,” Tony said loftily, bringing a hand up to tap three times at the arc reactor. “All in due time.”

When the suit didn’t dissolve into the arc reactor housing at the taps, he craned his head down to frown at it. He tapped at it again.

“I think you’re the padawan,” Rhodey suggested, very aware of Rogers’s palpable amusement and Vision’s curiosity, “seeing as how you’re having trouble getting anything to work.”

“Shut up. It works.” Tony tapped again at the arc reactor, only for the helmet to reform. “Oh, c’mon. That was _not_ what I was asking for—” He tapped one more time at the reactor, and this time the entire suit got the message and melted back into the casing, leaving Tony standing there in a black undersuit that left very little to the imagination.

Rhodey had an imagination. He also didn’t need it because he’d seen Tony naked multiple times. That being said, he could still appreciate the view.

“Are you going to get that worked out?” Rogers asked.

Tony waved a dismissive hand, pulling the arc reactor free from where it was stuck to his chest.

Even though it had been years since the surgery to remove the embedded arc reactor, Rhodey still got a few chills at the casual way Tony removed something that had once been responsible for keeping him alive.

“This is a prototype,” Tony explained, “and these _are_ training sessions, right? Best place to work out kinks. I’ve got my backup armors for the hard stuff.”

Rogers nodded, accepting that answer. “It’s going to be amazing once you do have it perfected.”

“Au contraire, Steve, nothing’s ever perfected.” Tony grinned brightly, eyes alight with a spark that Rhodey absolutely loved seeing. “It can always be better, and this is definitely going to be better once I work out the coding kinks.”

Rogers smiled back at him, looking far more relaxed than Rhodey had seen in a while. “I’m sure it’s going to be great when you get it worked out.”

“It’ll just be some more time in the shop.” Tony stepped up next to Rhodey, looking him up and down before meeting his eyes and grinning at him.

Rhodey rolled his eyes but couldn’t resist a small answering smile. He was still in the War Machine suit, but that wouldn’t stop Tony.

“Maybe not this evening?” Rogers sounded a little hesitant.

Tony shot him a curious look. “Any reason why?”

“I was thinking that we could try for an activity altogether as a team?”

Tony’s eyebrows flew up a little. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ve been told that some of those wouldn’t go amiss in helping us bond.”

Tony had a slight smile at his lips. “I wonder who said that.”

It was Rogers’s turn to roll his eyes, but it seemed fondly exasperated. “I was also told no card games, and we don’t have any good board games last I checked.”

“No Monopoly,” Rhodey said before Tony could even suggest it.

Tony made an indignant noise, elbowing Rhodey in the side and then wincing when he met nothing but suit. “You _love_ playing Monopoly with me, platypus. Don’t lie.”

“The lie is that I love getting bankrupted in ten turns.”

“No Monopoly,” Rogers said hastily before Tony could fire back a retort. “So, uh, I need to get other board games. Later. Tonight I was thinking some movies? We could try for, ah, _Star Wars_? There’ve been a few new ones that came out…”

On cue, Tony made a face. Rhodey resisted making one because he was a professional, damn it.

“The new ones are garbage,” Tony proclaimed, “except for the first one. That can stand on its own. And let’s not get into the prequels, though the CGI is probably the most impressive part about them. Now, if you’re going to be queuing up the _originals_ , we can talk.”

Rogers chuckled, shrugging lightly. “I think some of the others might have equally strong opinions, so we can go for the originals for now. Let’s bring in the controversy later.”

“Controversy can lead to bonding,” Vision offered hesitantly.

Tony waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, bonds forged in adversity and all that, but let’s not go straight for the jugular immediately. You got to ease into it, get a taste for everybody’s blood…”

“I don’t think that metaphor went where you wanted it to go,” Rhodey told him.

“That metaphor went exactly where I wanted it to go. Places.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes, gently bumping his gauntlet against Tony’s shoulder. “Places. Sure.”

Rogers watched both of them fondly, though most of his attention seemed to be on Tony. “I’ll let the others know about our plans tonight,” he said. “And see about making something for dinner that we can eat while watching. Having dinner before might be asking a bit much at this point.”

Tony shrugged. “Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.”

“Then should we not try for controversy?” Vision asked.

“Go straight for the jugular?” Rhodey added.

“Oh please,” Tony said, looking disappointed in all of them. “You have to be selectively careful about how you go about these things, young padawans. You want everyone’s focus on each other? In proximity to sharp, pointy objects that might go into soft, sensitive bits? Or people’s focus on movies and a galaxy far, far away?”

“You just don’t want to watch the prequels,” Rhodey accused him.

“Fine, guilty,” Tony admitted shamelessly. “But tell me honestly that _you_ want to sit through them, honey bear.”

Rhodey’s first reaction was yes, if only to see the look on Tony’s face. Besides, the prequels were great if only for Tony’s running commentary on everything that sucked about them. He could watch the prequels repeatedly just for that.

In fact, Rhodey wasn’t sure if he could recall any specific scenes from the prequels off the top of his head…

But Tony was wanting to bond with the team – make it closer to a family. So Rhodey could see why he wouldn’t want to throw them into the deep end of the pool right off the bat with the patented Tony Stark commentary on terrible movies. On the other hand, they should know exactly what they’re getting into because Tony was amazing and deserved to be appreciated.

Still, this was for Tony.

“Nah,” Rhodey said eventually, shaking his head. “We’ll stick with the originals tonight. Nothing like a timeless classic for some bonding.”

Rogers looked pleased. “Great. I don’t think Wanda’s seen these. Or at least not from start to finish. I’ll pull it together and see you tonight?”

“Sounds like a solid plan from the man with a plan,” Tony quipped, grinning slyly.

Rolling his eyes, Rogers slowly reached out to clap Tony on the shoulder and nodded to Rhodey. Then he headed inside.

Vision stayed outside for a few moments longer, looking between Rhodey and Tony. “I will see you inside.” He paused, then added, “Congratulations.”

Tony didn’t ask Vision what for, smiling at him and waving him off as Vision flew into the compound, phasing through a wall instead of taking the door. He turned to Rhodey, stepping right into his personal space. With Rhodey in the armor, he was slightly shorter, enough that he had to tilt his chin up to look Rhodey in the eyes.

He didn’t seem to mind this, sliding his arms around the suit. Rhodey suddenly wished he wasn’t in the suit so he could feel it.

“We’re alone now.” Tony grinned up at him, batting his eyes.

“We are.” Rhodey kept his tone neutral.

“What should we do with our alone time?” Tony’s arms moved, his hands likely trailing up over the armor in patterns that Rhodey regretfully couldn’t feel.

Rhodey pretended to think about the question for a bit. Then he slung an arm around Tony, raising an eyebrow. “Let’s go for a ride.”

His faceplate came down before Tony could respond, and then he was airborne, holding Tony securely. There was a surprised burst of laughter from Tony, his eyes bright, and he clung tightly to Rhodey.

They’d head inside in a bit, but Rhodey could take Tony for a brief joyride around the training grounds in the meantime.

* * *

Rhodey wasn’t sure what Rogers was going to pull together for food tonight, but his question was answered when he walked into the large living room and found boxes of pizza stacked on the table along with regular plates because Rogers was environmentally conscious like that.

Tony sometimes made little comments about the compound not really being homey. For the most part, Rhodey had to agree with this assessment. It was primarily built as a training facility and for official meetings. For this reason, there were multiple office rooms, larger meeting spaces where the Avengers could get information, debrief, and meet with world leaders remotely, and large hallways reminiscent of the office buildings in New York City.

That being said, the compound was also the living space of the Avengers. There were some homier areas that consisted entirely of the bedrooms, kitchen, the library, some sitting areas, and the living room.

Tony sometimes didn’t have a hand in the furniture, letting folks go for aesthetic over comfort, but that depended on where he lived. His place in Malibu had been all Tony, a combination of comfort and aesthetic. He’d gone for something similar here, though leaning a little more on the aesthetics than comfort.

But it wasn’t _uncomfortable_ per se. The living room was popular insofar as Rhodey could tell. There was plenty of seating space for everyone and a large flat screen television on the far wall. It wasn’t on yet, but FRIDAY could change that quickly enough.

Rogers had claimed one of the couches, poking through the pizza boxes to see which was which. He looked up at Rhodey’s entrance, nodding at him before returning to the pizza box and picking out a slice of what looked like supreme meat.

Rhodey’s cholesterol levels were already screaming at the sight of it, so he went to go poke around for a veggie option. He was pointed to another box while Rogers went to the kitchen.

Rogers was back in a few minutes with a bunch of drinks – mostly nonalcoholic – while other Avengers slowly trickled in. Sam claimed a spot on the other couch, grabbing a lemonade and picking through the sorted pizza boxes.

Rhodey sat down on the loveseat that Tony had gotten for some reason. It was likely because of how comfortable it was, but Rhodey wasn’t complaining. There was enough room here for Tony and for the two of them to snuggle up.

They weren’t keeping their relationship secret, so they could totally do that. It wasn’t anything new either. They were extremely physically affectionate because that was how Tony expressed his affection and love and Rhodey loved holding him so it was mutual. So that was nothing new; it was just _more_ now and Rhodey was so happy they had more now.

Tony came in shortly after Romanov entered the room, immediately making a beeline to Rhodey. He flopped down in the loveseat next to Rhodey, almost in his lap, and snagged a random pizza box, pulling it into his own lap and offering it to Rhodey.

It was pepperoni because of course it was.

Rhodey made a face at Tony, only to get a smirk in response as Tony picked up a cheesy slice and bit into it while the introduction to _A New Hope_ played on the television. “You know you’ve got heart issues, Tones,” he murmured, keeping his voice low so as not to drown out the sound of the movie.

Tony chewed and swallowed, grinning at Rhodey. “And they’re all because of you, platypus. C’mon, live a little.” He nudged the box meaningfully over to Rhodey.

Rhodey gave it a look, then sighed and took one slice. One because it wouldn’t kill him. Then he put the box away, well out of Tony’s reach because he wanted his partner alive and healthy and veggie pizza at least had _vegetables_.

Tony pouted, making a face of his own at Rhodey, which was promptly marred when he took another bite of his pizza.

Rhodey snorted, then turned his attention to the movie. He slung an arm around Tony’s shoulders, tugging him into his side while he ate his slice one-handed, balancing his plate on his knee while he did so.

He was engrossed enough in the movie that he didn’t notice the odd atmosphere in the room for a while. It seemed a little…stiff?

Rhodey casually looked around, catching sight of _everyone_ looking at him and Tony like they had sprouted twin heads or something else utterly bizarre. No one was looking at the television, so Leia’s awesomeness was going unnoticed. Well, Rogers was watching, but he was the only one, and even he seemed to be twigging onto something not quite right.

Granted, that was probably more because of Barton throwing a wad of paper napkin at his head.

Vision was also ignoring everything, but Rhodey thought that was more because of sheer bullheadedness than actual ignorance like on Rogers’s part.

Maximoff was actually frowning, glowering at Tony like she wanted to shoot him or do something else painful to his person. There was a corresponding tension creeping into Tony’s frame, and Rhodey pulled him in closer in response, rubbing his hand over Tony’s shoulder. He stared back at Maximoff, shaking his head sharply.

Maximoff wasn’t deterred, narrowing her eyes at Rhodey now. Rhodey returned it with an unimpressed look because while she was intimidating, he wasn’t intimidated by her.

Tony shifted in Rhodey’s grip, eyes on the screen. There was still tension in his frame, and this was the last thing Rhodey wanted for him.

Romanov was also frowning, looking between them and Rogers like there was a mystery to solve when the only mystery was what the hell was up with everyone.

“ _Why_ are you two sitting like that?” Maximoff eventually asked rudely, loudly talking over the characters on TV.

“You have a problem with it, the door’s right there,” Rhodey said before Tony could try to pacify her like he usually did.

“Of course I have a problem with it! I should have known Stark wouldn’t be able to keep it in his pants.” Maximoff’s face twisted into a decidedly unattractive sneer.

“Hey, everything’s in my pants right now,” Tony objected before Rhodey could say anything. “I’m totally presentable.”

Maximoff didn’t look amused in the slightest, scowling and glowering at Tony. She wasn’t the only one who seemed displeased with him.

Barton was looking a little peeved himself, and Sam was looking disappointedly at _Rhodey_ like he’d done something wrong. Romanov had a mostly neutral expression on her face but seemed to be looking between Rhodey and Tony and Rogers like they were an interesting puzzle to put together.

“That was uncalled for, Wanda.” Rogers leaned forward, fixing Maximoff with a slight frown.

Maximoff turned to him, expression shifting to shock. “Uncalled for? Steve, he’s sleeping with _Rhodes_.”

Rogers had the best expression Rhodey had ever seen on him. It looked so confused, like he’d expected something different than that.

Because, really, Rhodey was just as confused. Maximoff’s issue was that Tony was sleeping with Rhodey? Even though they hadn’t even rounded home base yet?

“Yes?” Rogers said the word slowly, like he was expecting something else to come at him.

“Man, I know things have been a little weird between you and Tony lately, but you don’t have to settle for that,” Sam said reassuringly.

Rogers fixed Sam with that confused expression now, his brow furrowed like he was trying advanced mathematics and failing at it. “Settling?”

“He clearly doesn’t respect you,” Maximoff said impatiently, gesturing to Tony like that explained anything at all. It didn’t. Rhodey was confused.

“Hey, I respect him,” Tony protested. “I respect him just the right amount.”

“Be quiet, Stark,” Maximoff snapped.

Tony put up a hand in surrender, then set down his unfinished pizza slice on Rhodey’s plate. He didn’t pull away from Rhodey, so it was easy to feel the minute tension strumming through him.

Rhodey pressed his lips together, rubbing his hand over Tony’s shoulder again, and refocused on the others. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on here and why the others were so pissed off.

“I think you had better explain why you’re upset with Tony right now, Wanda,” Rogers said firmly. “Actually, that goes for all of you.”

“Seriously?” Barton sounded disbelieving. “You’re _not_ upset? After the entire spiel you gave Rhodes about wanting to be friends with him because it’d make Stark happy? And now they’re doing _that_ ”—he gestured to Rhodey and Tony—“in front of your face? That’s just mean.”

Rogers looked confused. “Yes, that’s fine. They’re able to do that.”

“Steve…you’ve always talked about wanting to share a life with one person,” Sam said slowly. “Is this… Are you guys in an arrangement?”

crashed at that insinuation. It crashed like Internet Explorer when asked to do too many tasks. It crashed like one of those old computers that had given up the ghost.

An arrangement? An _arrangement_?

“Wait, what?” Tony’s voice was blank.

Rogers’s voice was much less blank, more confused and a little frustrated. “An arrangement? Sam, what?”

“You know.” Sam waved between all of them like that would explain anything. “An arrangement. You guys split custody of Stark or something?”

“Ex _cuse_ me,” Tony protested indignantly, because somehow _his_ brain was still working while Rhodey’s was still frozen with no response, “no one splits custody of me.”

“I dunno,” Barton snarked, “you seem like someone who needs a custodian. Guardian. Whatever.”

“Clint.” Rogers’s tone forbade any further snarking from that corner.

And Rhodey’s brain finally managed to reboot, as he realized just what Sam was referring to and what everyone else had been thinking all this time.

Rogers pulled in a breath, then straightened. He looked every inch of Captain America despite being dressed in sweatpants and a shirt that was for once two sizes too big. “I want a proper explanation of what’s going on,” he said firmly.

“I see you and Tony aren’t in a relationship,” Romanov said, finally speaking up. “But he and Rhodes are.”

“Yes,” Rogers said slowly, “they are. Did you – Christ, Natasha, we _spoke_ about this!”

Romanov blinked slowly, tilting her head to the side. “Yes. You said you worked things out.”

“We did!”

Romanov glanced to Rhodey and Tony. “I see that.”

Rogers groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Look, you were wrong before about the whole”—he glanced to Rhodey and Tony as well—“thing.”

“Thing?” Barton asked. “What thing?”

“Thing,” Rogers said, refusing to elaborate any further. “Tony and I talked about it a few days ago and got it sorted out. We’re trying for the whole friends thing.”

Sam gave Rogers a sad look. “I thought you liked him?”

“Of course I like him!” Rogers seemed to realize what that sounded like. “I like him as a friend, as a person. Did you seriously think I liked him like _that_?”

“Hey, I’m a catch,” Tony protested.

“You’re my catch,” Rhodey murmured, pulling him in closer.

“You’re a great friend, Tony,” Rogers said, expression softening as his eyes landed on Tony, “but I’m not interested in you like that. Romantically,” he added. “Since that’s what everyone here is thinking. For _some_ reason.” He pinned Romanov in place with a stare.

Romanov put up her hands. “I made a mistake. Clearly.”

“Say it ain’t so,” Tony gasped, putting a hand to his chest. “The infamous Black Widow admits to making a mistake!”

Romanov rolled her eyes. “Don’t push it, Tony.”

“I am confused,” Barton announced, staring at the TV screen where it had paused on a shot of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s face. “So confused.”

“I’d ask what you’re confused about, but I have to say this is a little mind-boggling for me, too,” Sam admitted, eyes darting to Rhodey and Tony.

By this point, Rhodey was feeling a little like a bug under a microscope. He’d thought the Avengers were observant, but clearly not. How the hell did something like this happen?

“I don’t see what’s confusing about it,” Tony said, huffing. He leaned into Rhodey’s side, crossing his legs. “Rhodey and I are together. Steve and I are friends – working on it, anyway. The rest of you are acting all weird and making assumptions. Didn’t your parents ever tell you what assuming means for you?”

“Yeah, we’re all asses,” Barton quipped, flapping a hand dismissively. “But so are you.”

“Hey, I had no idea that the wonder twins had lost their touch to the point where they missed all the obvious signs _in front of their face_.”

“You and Rhodes,” Maximoff said slowly, face pinched. “Why.”

Tony tilted his head, coincidentally letting it rest on Rhodey’s shoulder. “Why not.”

Maximoff looked to Rhodey. “I thought you smarter than this, Rhodes,” she told him, the words clipped.

“I have a PhD and am a goddamn rocket scientist,” Rhodey said blandly. “I’m exactly as smart as you thought I was.”

“Clearly not,” Maximoff said, sneering. “Since you’re together with _him_.”

“Wanda,” Rogers bit out before Rhodey could snap something distinctly unwise back at her.

Maximoff huffed, folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in her seat. “Fine. I suppose it’s none of my business, anyway.” She pursed her lips like she was about to say something else, only to clearly decide against it.

“Their relationship will be an asset to the team,” Vision said nonchalantly, seeming entirely unbothered with everything happening in the room. “Both of their stress levels have significantly reduced since getting together and there is significantly more communication between the two of them. I see nothing wrong with their relationship and what it means for the Avengers’ future.”

There was a weighty silence in the air, a few meaningful glances exchanged among those who had previously known JARVIS.

Rhodey’s heart twisted at hearing Vision’s approval voiced in the familiar voice that he had always associated with JARVIS. He tightened his arm around Tony, aware that it had to be worse for him since he had been so much closer to JARVIS.

“Thank you for that, Vision,” Rogers said diplomatically.

“Your relationship with Tony will also be an asset, Captain,” Vision added.

Rogers nodded, face politely neutral. “Thank you for your input.”

Tony clapped his hands together, the sound startlingly loud in the dim room. “Well! This has been an absolutely riveting conversation filled with revelations from all sides. I’m sure everyone’s questions have been answered—”

“I have more, actually,” Barton said.

“—but we are not accepting commentary from the peanut gallery at this time,” Tony continued, ignoring Barton. “Questions can be directed to our comment box Tuesdays and Thursdays from two to five. We reserve the right to set fire to anything that’s too ridiculous. Now, are we going to watch them take down the Death Star or not?”

FRIDAY didn’t wait for an affirmative answer, hitting play on the movie.

Rhodey reached for his unfinished pizza slice, a little disappointed that it had cooled down during the conversation. Tony went to grab another pizza box from the closest table. This one was veggie, and he balanced it on his knee and offered it to Rhodey.

Pizza still in his mouth, Rhodey took one slice and put it on his plate, then refocused on the movie.

There were still occasional glances from the others – and disgruntled huffs from Maximoff – but they thankfully left the topic alone. Rogers’s mulish glare might have had something to do with it as well.

Rhodey had his qualms about Steve Rogers, but his stubbornness when it was on Tony’s side was a very good thing. If he was honest about his desire to be Tony’s friend, then Rhodey would accept it because Tony could always use more people in his corner. And having _Captain America_ in his corner would hopefully be a good thing.

For now, Rhodey could sit back, mostly relax, and enjoy the movie while cuddling publicly with Tony.

At the very least, this had been _some_ sort of team bonding.

* * *

“Well, wasn’t that fun,” Tony said once the movie was done and the pizza had all been devoured. “Let’s do this again sometime, preferably without the Spanish Inquisition that no one expected.”

“No one expects the Spanish Inquisition, Tones,” Rhodey pointed out fondly.

“Exactly, honey. Toodles, everyone.” Tony grabbed hold of Rhodey’s hand and hauled him to his feet, reflexively steadying him and then tugging him out of the living room before any of the others could protest.

“Toodles?” Rhodey couldn’t resist needling Tony. “All the words to pick from, and you go for ‘toodles’?”

“Yeah.” Tony shot him a look, practically daring him to protest. “Got a problem with that, snookums?”

Rhodey made a face. “Okay, first of all, never call me that again. Second of all, I have no problems with it, but you should question all your life choices.”

“I question none of my life choices, since they led me here to you,” Tony said unashamedly, flashing a grin at Rhodey. “And, also, your place or mine?”

“Mine,” Rhodey responded automatically before fully registering the question. “Wait, what?”

“Yours it is!” Tony said cheerfully, tugging Rhodey along the hallway to where Rhodey’s bedroom was located. “You have extra toothbrushes, yeah? Oh, who am I kidding, this is you. Of course you have an extra toothbrush.”

“Yes, because I like dental hygiene…” Rhodey pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh. “Are you angling to spend the night? Is asking about my extra toothbrush Tony Stark’s smooth way of asking himself over?”

“I mean, if it works.” Tony shrugged, the movement seeming deliberately casual.

Rhodey bit back his first joking response, more closely evaluating Tony. The casualness hid some nerves; Rhodey was keenly familiar with that nervous tic of his and what it could hide.

“Of course it works,” Rhodey said, stepping ahead of Tony to reach his door first and open it. “I want you here.” Then, because Tony was an insecure idiot, he added, “All the time.”

Tony watched him, expression soft and open. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Rhodey smiled at him, tugging him into the room and pushing the door closed behind him. “See, I’m kind of in love with you.”

FRIDAY had turned up the lights a little, so Rhodey could see how Tony turned a little red and his smile a little shy.

“That’s good,” Tony said, eyes dropping to their intertwined hands as he reached out for Rhodey’s other one. “Because, see, I’m kind of in love with you, too. A lot, actually.”

Rhodey smiled at him, then leaned in to close the small distance between them and kiss Tony. There was some grease on his lips from the pizza they’d had for dinner, but it was soft and sweet and Rhodey didn’t deepen it, just wanting Tony to have the reassurance.

Tony’s hands flexed where they were holding onto Rhodey’s, and then he let go of one to wrap an arm around Rhodey’s back, tugging him in closely as he moved his mouth against Rhodey’s and gently parted his lips, deepening the kiss.

He tasted a little like lemonade, but Rhodey probably did, too. He pressed in, angling his head and kissing him back, breaking apart briefly to breathe and then kissing him again and again and again. It was an easy back and forth, exactly like their relationship, and it had Rhodey flushed with warmth.

Eventually Rhodey managed the wherewithal to pull away, breathing hard and heart pounding in his chest as he opened his eyes. “You…” He swallowed, taking in the sight of Tony flushed and kissed stupid. “You wanted that toothbrush.”

Tony blinked open his eyes, which were blown black. There was an answering swallow from him, and his tongue darted out to lick over his lips. “Right.” His voice was ragged and thick. “That. Should do it.” He swayed in for another kiss but didn’t do more than press their lips together.

Rhodey exhaled raggedly through his nose, eyes falling shut and leaning into Tony’s frame as he returned the pressure.

Tony held it for a moment longer, then withdrew, squeezing Rhodey’s hand once before he let go. “Toothbrush. Um.”

“Toothbrush,” Rhodey inanely agreed, letting Tony go. He felt cold at the lack of contact, but it wasn’t going to be for long.

Just…get ready for bed. And then they’d be back together.

It took some time, both of them maneuvering around Rhodey’s bedroom. Tony had no nightclothes here, so Rhodey took the liberty of throwing some at his head like they were back at MIT and Tony had forgotten to do laundry again. They were able to share the bathroom without knocking limbs together, and then they were in bed.

The braces came off, Rhodey stowing them and pulling his legs up into bed as was his normal routine. Tony didn’t help out even though Rhodey could tell he wanted to. It was appreciated, since Rhodey was capable enough of handling this on his own.

When he was done and tucked under the covers, Rhodey turned to Tony and smiled at him. There was a lock of hair over Tony’s forehead, so Rhodey reached out to brush it up and back.

“Gonna get some sleep tonight?” Rhodey asked.

Tony’s head dipped in a nod, and he dropped onto the pillow next to Rhodey, one hand in-between them. “Yeah. I have you here, don’t I?”

“So I’m only good for a sleeping buddy, that it?”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed in a tone that clearly said that wasn’t it at all. “That’s it.”

Rhodey continued smiling at him a moment longer, then took hold of Tony’s hand to pull him in and wrap his arm around his waist. He pressed their foreheads together, then kissed him briefly.

Tony returned it with a soft sigh, tension spooling out of his body.

A moment later, Rhodey broke the kiss to murmur, “Can you believe the others?”

Tony’s nose wrinkled, and he opened his eyes to give Rhodey a sour look. “Really? You going to be talking about the others now?”

Rhodey shrugged shamelessly.

Tony stared at him, then sighed like he couldn’t believe he was indulging this insanity. “Fine. Yes, I can actually believe them, because Steve was convinced I was about to confess my undying love for him. And he’s terrible at communication, so it’s no wonder he told no one else what happened.”

“Hey, pot meet kettle.”

“Ha ha.” Tony rolled his eyes, then nipped at Rhodey’s jaw, causing him to jump at the sudden change in sensation. “We got it sorted out. I’m sure Wanda’s going to be staring daggers at me over the next several days and her estimation of you has plummeted into the molten core of the Earth, but she’ll get over it.”

“She better,” Rhodey grumbled.

“Steve’ll handle it,” Tony said with what Rhodey privately thought was unfounded confidence because Rogers historically had trouble “handling” Maximoff.

Rhodey hummed in answer rather than lie straight to Tony’s face. “Well, this makes a few conversations over the past day make significantly more sense.”

“It also explains why Wanda kept rolling her eyes and grouching at me when I ran into her.”

She’d done absolutely none of that in Rhodey’s presence, but she probably also knew Rhodey had significantly less patience for her bullshit compared to Tony.

“It’s fine,” Rhodey said, running a hand up Tony’s back. “As you said, we got it sorted out. And now everyone’s on the same page.”

“Yep.” Tony gave Rhodey an impossibly soft look. “We sure are.”

Rhodey was sure he had an equally soft look on his own face. His heart felt several sizes too big for his chest. “So. Sleep?”

Humming, Tony’s expression shifted to thoughtfulness. “Sleep’s nice,” he said slowly, hand trailing up Rhodey’s back to his neck, a thumb swiping over the back of it in a slow sweep. “But you know what would be better?”

“What?” Rhodey prompted.

Tony didn’t answer immediately, a sly grin creeping over his face. “Making out like horny teenagers.”

Rhodey snorted, then laughed, ducking his head to Tony’s shoulder.

“Hey, I’m serious!” Tony protested, though he held Rhodey tightly. “We’ve a lot of time to make up for.”

The tone was joking, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness there that Rhodey couldn’t miss even in his amusement. He managed to sober up, picking his head up to meet Tony’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Rhodey said softly, “but I think we’re exactly where we should be now.”

Tony kissed him in answer, going straight for the deep, drugging kiss that had Rhodey’s head spinning and his arms tightening around Tony.

It was good. It was very good. Much better than any of Rhodey’s daydreams had been because it was real and _here_.

And Rhodey was looking forward to doing this for many years to come.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I had...so much trouble with Clint's character. He's been through the wringer characterization-wise in the movies... For my purposes, he has no wife and no kids. Laura Burton...exists? But likely is his sister.  
> Tony is totally planning on making one of those suits for Rhodey because Rhodey deserves the best.
> 
> Anyway, drop a comment and let me know what you think! And please reblog the [link on tumblr](https://inukagome15.tumblr.com/post/633528499328696320/love-is-blind) and spread the word~  
> Here's Ducky's [moodboard again](https://inukagome15.tumblr.com/post/633533965198852096/moodboard-for-the-ironhusbands-big-bang)! Give it a reblog and some love!  
> My [tumblr](http://inukagome15.tumblr.com) can be found here if you want to give that a look.
> 
> Thanks again to Ducky for running the Big Bang! <3


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